Most prospectors didn’t “strike it rich,” and some turned to other industries that supported others’ mining efforts. Camps and towns grew and spread out. Mercantile stores, saloons, restaurants, churches, and schools were established as the population grew. The most important of these industries, and which all the others were dependent on, was mail delivery.
“Prospectors and Postmen: Mail Delivery in the Boom Days of Mining” presents photographs, contemporaneous mail, and other documents to tell the story of early mail and freight transportation methods, with particular emphasis on Arizona. The exhibit includes information on the Colorado River steamboats, pack animals, wagons, coaches, buckboards, and “pony express” style horseback mail delivery.
Prospectors and Postmen: Mail Delivery in the Boom Days of Mining exhibit runs through May 2018.
